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History of the Empire
Dating within this record uses traditional dating, although dates in parentheses are the Imperial date at the time The Merrovian Empire can be traced to a specific man, who lived in a small village on the banks of the Flume River. His name was Meriditus, and the nature of his family is lost to history. Meriditus himself only appears in the historical record at the age of twenty, in the year 2182, when he led his fellow citizens in a spirited defence against the desert raiders that plagued the Flume valley. While the village was saved, Meriditus' twin brother Anjolus was killed in the fighting. Enraged by his brother's death, Meriditus travelled from his home village of Merrow to other villages up and down the valley, proposing an alliance to defend themselves against the raiders. Accurate historical records are hard to discern from Imperial hagiography, but it appears that Meriditus was both persuasive and convincing, and a small militia force was put together. This force was able to destroy the raider camps closest to the valley, but Meriditus was not satisified with this and determined that he would have to push the barbarians back even further. Lacking funds to provide for his army, Meriditus took on mercenary work for other city-states deeper into the desert, most notably Ptompol and Asheronopolis. Over the next ten years, Meriditus grew from an outraged village farmboy to the inspirational leader of a large, tough, disciplined army. Initally numbering less than a thousand, by 2194 his Merrovian Legion included over forty thousand personnel, consisting of twenty thousand infantry, fifteen thousand mounted auxiliaries and roughly five thousand logistical and support personnel. This city-sized force was split into numerous detatchments across the southern arc of the continent, but each man was personally loyal to Meriditus. It was in 2194 that Meriditus himself, along with his elite personal guard, finally captured the bandit leader that had led the assault on his hometown over a decade before. Before he died - some say of his wounds, some say under torture - he confessed that the assault had happened because the mayor of Merrow had wanted Anjolus killed so the mayor could marry his widow, an event that had in fact taken place. Enraged beyond words, Meriditus led the Merrovian Legion to their namesake town, which had grown from a small fishing village to a mid-sized trading town. Sickened by political corruption, Meriditus seized power in the town, and went on to conquer sixteen others up and down the valley over the next two years. Generally speaking, these "conquests" were popular with the citizens of these communities, who had been suffering under corrupt rulers for many years. Welding these communities together, Meriditus formed the core of what would become the Merrovian Empire. It was at this point that Meriditus had a dream or a vision that would consume the rest of his life. This account is taken from the great mural on the wall of the Temple of Hextor in Merrow. "The towns of the valley had accepted my rule, and I saw my destiny before me. As I took my bed and slept, a world opened before me. A man stood there, tall and strong, with six arms, each carrying a weapon of curious worksmanship. He showed me the world, from the coasts to the mountains to the deserts, and he showed me armies and navies and road and ports and all of these things, he said, were mine for the taking. All that was required from me was to make these things, my dreams, come true. He showed me a great hall, from which my justice was dispensed, and none could argue against me, for my justice was true and my power unquestioned. He showed me the great treasure vaults, where the gold of tribute was piled high. I asked him his name, and he said, I am HEXTOR, and I am God of this land. Worship me, and these things shall come to pass." Meriditus started work at once on the construction of a great temple to Hextor. Priests of the Scourge of Battle flocked to the Empire, and a great cultural expansion began in the Flume Valley, which spread rapidly through the surrounding territory. At this point in history, organised large-scale nation-states were a largely theoretical concept in human society, although the nations of Lannettcrag and Imladris had been in existence for centuries by this time. It appears from the writings of his contempories that Meriditus had as an example the dwarven kingdoms, where individual cities are autonomous but pay taxes and honour the authority of the Great King. The large trading cities of Ptompol and Asheronopolis were among the first to join the fledgling Empire, driven in part by religious fervour whipped up by the Hextorian priests. With the addition of these cities and their hinterlands, the Merrovian Empire had become the largest single human nation on the continent. The annexation of Helmsport on the eastern coast led Meriditus to begin the construction of the Imperial Navy to complement - and transport - his Imperial Legions. Concerned by this Imperial military expansion, the government of the Free City of Raven made representations to Meriditus demanding that he cease his naval buildup. Meriditus refused to countenence retreat in the face of opposition, and armed galleons flying the Empire's manticore-marked flag were first launched in 2201. At the same time, Imperial Legions, preceded by firebrand Hextorite priests and Imperial diplomats were moving north, converting town after town either politically, religiously, or, in the last extreme, by the sword. However, on reaching the Nahoon River, traditional southern border of the Free City's influence, Meriditus was struck down "as if by a sudden, implacable sleep, in which state he remained for three days and three nights," records the historian Althelan the Bearded. Althelan continues with an account of what happened when Meriditus awoke. "Then the Emperor rose up from his bed, and called together his generals and the mighty men of his army, and said unto them, It is not right or meet for us to cross this river, for Hextor, the God of War, forbids it, and the servant of him that crosses this river without his consent shall perish, not in glorious battle but in ignominious disease. And his generals murmured amongst themselves, whether they should go east to the coast and around the mouth of the river, or west to the mountains and around the source, that they might not anger their God. But then spake the Emperor unto them, saying, It is not meet that you should try to change my words, and find a way around them through your own wisdom. For behold, if we go unto the sea, the navy of our enemy will destroy us, and if we go to the mountains, the elves and the dwarves will march against us, and all we have gained will be lost." Althelan describes then how Meriditus split his army in two, sending six Legions east to secure the southern bank of the Nahoon that way, and taking the rest west, to establish the borders of the Empire at the end of Imladris and the Feldemarsh. During this time, Ravenite warships began probing the might of the new Imperial Navy, and, fiinding it lacking, launched a series of daring raids, culminating in the Battle of the Inner Banks, an assault on the Imperial shipyards in the mouth of the Flume River. Despite a sterling and gallant defence, the Ravenite navy was able to take and burn two of the three shipyards and severely damage the third. Weather-controlling magics were critical in the Ravenite attack, and magic-supported ground troops were landed behind Legion lines to conduct a audacious overland assault, which succeeded in destroying six bridges in the Flume River delta, using the wreckage to block the major navigable channels and stop Imperial Navy riverine forces from defending the shipyards. At least sixty Imperial galleons and galleys were taken or scuttled by their crews, in exchange for less than a dozen Ravenite vessels. Meriditius did not allow this assault to draw him into a rash overland attack, however, and instead asked the druids of the Felde to negotiate for him with the City of Raven. The Treaty of Northwind followed, named for the city in which it was signed. The treaty covered both the formalisation of the Empire's northern border, and incidentally created the concept of Raven as a nation as well as a country, describing the Nahoon River as border between them. It will, however, be nearly three hundred and fifty years until a unified nation emerges from what is at this time still a loose tribal confederation. Among the other clauses of the treaty was the status of Raven, which became in many ways a part of the Empire. Emperor Meriditus was granted the right to appoint the Chief of the Council, the body which "led" the tribal confederation, and the Imperial Legions were permitted to travel through and provide protection to the territory between the Nahoon and Yamal Rivers. While there is no direct parallel in modern diplomatic relations, the relationship might be categorised as something between a protectorate and an allied state - the Empire was allowed to conduct taxation, but the taxes had to be primarily spent within Raven, for example. Significantly, Raven and Ravenite territories were exempt from the mandatory worship of Hextor that Meriditus inflicted on his other conquered territories. Having "conquered" Raven and established an empire that covered a third of a continent, Meriditus returned to Merrow and spent his declining years guiding the construction of the Temple of Hextor, the Palace of Justice, and formalising the Empire's legal and constitutional structure. Finally, in 2247, aged 85 and regarded as a wise and inspired leader, Meriditus died, having appointed his successor in the sight of both his Imperial Council and the legislative body, the House of Legates. This successor, his nephew Verterous, was thirty-four when his uncle died, and he took the throne with energy and vision. Under Verterous, the borders of the Empire expanded westward, heading for the coast. Further, he started the ambitious road-building program that would be the lasting legacy of the Empire. Verterous was the second Emperor of the First Golden Age, ruling from 2247 until his death in 2298. He was succeeded by his son, Verterous II, from 2298 until 2315, when Verterous II was killed in battle against the hidiir and succeeded by his son, Pervivon. While only seventeen, Pervivon was a strong leader, supported by his father's generals and the widespread popularity he held among the common people. However, in 2340 he was killed along with his only son when the ship they were sailing on was hit by a ferocious storm. Pervivon's nephew, Dulum, was chosen as successor, but this was a poor decision. Dulum was far more interested in the power and wealth of his new station then his responsibilities, and his hedonism caused much scandal, especially among his conservative religious advisors. Within twenty years, Dulum had managed to overindulge so heavily that he died of advanced chirrosis of the liver and handed over the throne to his son, Dulum II, in 2360. Dulum II was, if anything, even worse than his father, but in a very different way - while Dulum I was content to stay in the Imperial Palace and indulge his personal habits, Dulum II wanted to get out into the world. Under Dulum II, the Great Arena was constructed, a vast ampitheatre where gladiatorial combat became the primary attraction of the City of Merrow's upper classes. The vast cost of this enterprise came from increased taxes in the regions, while Dulum II actually cut taxes for the residents of the City of Merrow. It was during the reign of Dulum II that negotiations with the wealthy city-state of Tomsim, which had begun under his father and were the only real success of Dulum I's reign, collapsed after the new Emperor demanded exorbitant tributes from Tomsim, backed up with threats of invasion and destruction. Dulum II remained Emperor for nearly forty years, before succumbing much as his father did to the ravages of gluttony. In 2396 Dulum III was crowned, and the beginning of the end of the Empire began. Dulum III was determined to outdo his father, and began by ordering the construction of a colossal statue of himself, a gargantuan bronze image that would stand astride the River Flume as it left the city heading for the sea. The cost of this vast construction was raised from yet further tax rises, and Dulum III also publicly rejected demands from Raven that the Imperial Legions be deployed to suppress barbarian raids from across the Yamal River - instead, the Emperor withdrew all Legion forces from the protectorate. Infuriated by the tax rises and the betrayal, the Council of Chiefs repudiated the Treaty of Northwind, executed the Imperial Commissioner and sent his family across the border naked. Insulted, Dulum III sent a single Legion north to sack and destroy Raven in 2401. This Legion was intercepted by Ravenite forces less than two hundred miles north of the Nahoon and destroyed to the last man. This was the first major defeat of an Imperial Legion in the history of the Empire. In 2414, the Adele Crisis gripped the Empire. The coastal city-state, long a home for artists and musicians and considered the cultural capital of the Empire, declared independence. The local garrison, consisting of a single understrength and mostly ceremonial Legion, were besieged in their fort by elements of the Army of the Free City of Raven and the Tomsim Militia, both of which had secretly pledged to defend Adele if it broke free of the Empire. Amphibious troops of the Free City were of critical value in suppressing multiple attempts by the Imperial Legion to retake the city. The Legion were critically hampered in these efforts by the personal attention of the Emperor, who travelled from the city of Merrow to take personal charge of the crisis. His incompetent bungling cost the Legions thousands of lives and failed to take the bridges necessary for an assault on Adele itself. While personally leading an attack on the north bridge, Emperor Dulum III died in battle. The death of the Emperor prompted the Legions to fall back - the loss of Adele was one thing, but the succession crisis that was about to follow was far more important. Dulum III had no legitimate sons, and his illegitimate heirs were coming out of the woodwork like rats from a burning building. At least forty different people made representations before the Imperial Council, and poisonings and assassinations were rife among the contenders for the throne. The return of the Legions reduced the visibility of the competition, but not the viciousness of it. In the end, Girtin, Dulum III's second cousin, became Emperor with the support of the Legions, and immediately had all the remaining contenders - his own relatives - put to death. If Dulum III had been foolish and self-serving, Girtin was a paranoid megalomaniac. He was convinced that his enemies were plotting against him, and he used the coercive power of his office to crush plots against him. It is, however, a sad truth that if you crush plots, then even if there were no plots to start with, soon there are plots aplenty. Girtin also established his secret police, called the Emperor's Guardians, who used kidnapping, torture and murder to suppress those suspected of plotting against the Emperor. While consumed with paranoia, Girtin was not above taking advantage of the other perquisites of his office. The wealth and splendour of the Imperial Palace grew day by day, as did the taxes levied ever more harshly upon his populace. In a change from the Dulum Emperors, Girtin raised the taxes in the central provinces to match those in his outlying regions, massively increasing the tax burden on his most loyal citizens. Corruption in high places caused scandals that rocked both the Imperial Council and the House of Legates, and in 2418 public disapproval reached its highest expression when the Imperial coach was mobbed and Girtin was assassinated in the confusion. His son, Frelwor, was Emperor for less than six months before he too was assassinated, stabbed during a "private dinner party" that was in fact a massive orgy. Frelwor's brother, Dunstain, was made Emperor and immediately ordered the Legions north to reconquer Raven and launch an assault on Imladris. Dunstain was set upon by his personal guard and drowned in his own bathtub. Archedus, Dunstain and Frelwor's cousin on their mother's side, was made Emperor, despite his strenuous objections. Accounts of the time indicate that his wife and children were taken into custody by the Emperor's Guardians to ensure his compliance. Archedus appears to have intended to protect himself by undoing the mistakes of his predecessors - unfortunately, he was assassinated by an invisible stalker before he could leave the Temple of Hextor after his coronation. The death of Archedus appears to have been the final straw. The noble houses that made up the Imperial Council began to strike at each other, each suspecting the others of being behind the assassinations. No blood relative could be found to fill the throne - most of the candidates had fled the country, and those who remained were disqualified either through illness, incapacity or being a woman. The infighting, assassinations and poisonings of this time claimed well over two hundred lives, mostly of low-level members of the houses. Frustrated and infuriated by this squabbling, the Legion generals staged a coup in the winter of 2420. This coup led to the installation of a military government, who continued the harsh taxation that had led to the discontent of the people. However, replacing soft aristocrats with hardened warriors meant that assassinations, while attempted, were considerably less successful than they had been. However, in 2424, the Great Revolt took place. Riots broke out across the Empire, and the Imperial Legions in many instances refused to use force against their countrymen. The military government surrendered power to the Imperial Council and the riots were eventually quelled by promises of reform, but several small city-states, most notably the coastal cities of Al-Purrim and Jeddar, declared themselves independent. In 2425 the Imperial Council elected one of their number as Emperor, the ancient and senile Anthenmon. While purely a figurehead, Anthenmon is fondly remembered because it was under his reign that many of the injustices which had caused so much unrest were resolved. Taxes - and expenditure - were slashed, especially in the home provinces, the Legions were reduced in size and trade and commerce became the central focus of the government. In 2430 Anthenmon died and the Council, rather than selecting his son, chose another of their number, this time the much younger and more energetic Octanivus. Octanivus led a series of reforms, including the buildup of an Imperial merchant marine and the extension of official diplomatic relations with the inscrutable Caliphate of the Serpent, across the ocean. Under Octanivus, however, the desert nomads called hidiir began to again be a problem, striking at Imperial outposts and cross-desert transport routes. Octanivus died in 2473, and his successor was again chosen by the Imperial Council. This time, they went for a military man, General Tullius of the 1st Legion, in an attempt to counter the increasing depredations of the hidiir. Tullius' campaigns in the desert remain the most studied and successful military campaigns of the modern age. His memoirs of the time, That's No Sand Dune, remain exceptionally popular among military readers. However, in 2497 Emperor-General Tullius led a massed assault on the final stronghold of his lifelong enemy, Bowren D'doren, leader of the hidiir. While the assault was successful and the hidiir threat eliminated, D'doren engaged the now-elderly Tullius in single combat. The wounds each inflicted on the other were mortal, and the Empire died with Tullius. After his death, the military, having had a taste of power once again, fought amongst themselves to claim the throne. Unable to decide, each of Tullius' senior deputies took a military district of the Empire and claimed it as their own. This final conflict was too much for the overstretched Empire, and the political system collapsed. Civil war and internal conflicts tore the Empire apart. While officially the Merrovian Empire still exists, but by 2510 it was a shadow of its former self - offically still the largest nation on the continent, in practice it controls only three of its former provinces - Old Province, Valley Province and Seawall Province. Category:History